[2][3] According to vocalist, additional keyboardist and main songwriter Tony Kakko, the band had been willing to create an album with a more "live" sound,[3] but could never properly do it on their own.

[5] In June and July 2018, he showed some demos of songs he had written earlier that year to the rest of the band and by the time they entered the studio, they already knew what to do.

The other members considered it "boring" and he jokingly suggested "Talviyö", an expression that he felt most people outside of Finland would struggle to pronounce.

[6] "Storm the Armada" and "Who Failed the Most" discuss environmental concerns,[4] with the latter addressing it in a political manner by asking whether humankind is choosing the right leaders, environment-wise.

[2][4] "Ismo's Got Good Reactors" is an instrumental track with musical references to several places around the World, including Japan.

According to Kakko, it is "lyrically somewhat of a follow up for 'I Have a Right' (from Stones Grow Her Name) and talks about the difficulty of making the right choices with the upbringing of a new human being".

"[5] Kakko was initially unsure whether the longest song "The Raven Still Flies" would make it to the album, because he considered it "too complex and weird", but his bandmates approved it as soon as he showed it to them.